Sergio Mendes

One of the leading lights of bossa nova's crossover into America, Sergio Mendes came of age in an era when Tom Jobim and João Gilberto were leading Brazil towards international acclaim, and jazz musicians from around the world were flocking to the South American country for the "new sound of bossa nova." Heavily influenced by Jobim, Mendes was the best-selling Brazilian artist in the United States by the mid-1960s. His music took a turn toward light jazz, and Mendes explored numerous pop hits of the era in that idiom, including the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" and Simon and Garfunkle's "Scarborough Fair."